Time tracking for remote and hybrid workers: what UK and Irish law expects
Working time rules apply at home exactly as in the office: the 48-hour average, rest breaks and daily rest, and the duty to keep working time records (2 years in the UK, 3 years in Ireland). What changes is how you record hours – and how far you may monitor people at home under data protection law.
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Remote, hybrid or homeworking: the rules don't change
Neither the UK Working Time Regulations nor Ireland's Organisation of Working Time Act has a separate regime for remote workers. An employee working from home is still covered by:
- the 48-hour average week (UK: unless they've opted out; Ireland: no individual opt-out);
- rest breaks – UK: 20 minutes if the day is over 6 hours; Ireland: 15 minutes after 4.5 hours, 30 minutes after 6 hours;
- 11 hours' daily rest and weekly rest;
- record-keeping – UK reg. 9 (2 years), holiday records (6 years from April 2026) and minimum wage records (6 years); Ireland s. 25 (3 years);
- the minimum wage, averaged over all hours worked.
In the EU, the CJEU's CCOO ruling (C-55/18) requires a system measuring each worker's daily working time – remote workers included. Full details: working time records in the UK and Ireland.
Requests to work remotely
- UK: since 6 April 2024, employees can request flexible working – including working from home – from their first day of employment. Employers must handle requests reasonably and decide within two months.
- Ireland: since 7 March 2024, under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, employees can request remote working; the arrangement can start after 6 months' service, and the employer must reply within 4 weeks (extendable up to 8). The WRC Code of Practice explains how to handle requests.
Ireland also has a Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect (2021), which expects employers to respect employees' rest outside normal working hours. Reliable start and end times make that easy to show.
What to agree in writing
Whatever the legal minimum, a remote or hybrid arrangement works best with a short written policy or contract clause covering:
- Working hours and core hours – when the employee is expected to be available.
- How hours are recorded – for example, "clocking in and out through the company time tracking app at the start and end of work and for breaks".
- Where the employee works – the registered home address and any other agreed places.
- Overtime – that it needs prior approval, how it's recorded and how it's compensated.
- Monitoring – exactly what is checked and what is not.
- Equipment, data security and health and safety for the home workstation.
How much monitoring is allowed?
Recording start and end times is clearly justified – it's what working time law asks for. Continuous monitoring is a different matter. The UK ICO's guidance on monitoring workers (2023) says monitoring must be necessary, proportionate and transparent, and that monitoring at home needs particular care because it can capture family and private life. Under the GDPR, Ireland's Data Protection Commission applies the same principles.
| Practice | Generally reasonable | Generally hard to justify |
|---|---|---|
| Clock-in / clock-out times | Yes – needed for working time records | |
| Location check at clock-in only | Yes, if explained in writing | |
| Occasional presence check (e.g. selfie on request) | Yes, if proportionate and explained | |
| Continuous GPS tracking | Rarely justified for home workers | |
| Constant webcam or screen recording | Highly intrusive; needs strong justification and a DPIA | |
| Keystroke logging | Highly intrusive; rarely proportionate |
Overtime when working from home
Working from home makes unrecorded overtime easy: answering e-mails at 9 pm, starting early to beat the school run. Unrecorded hours still count towards the 48-hour average and the minimum wage calculation, and in the UK regular overtime affects holiday pay. Ask for overtime to be approved in advance and recorded – see how to calculate overtime pay.
How remote time tracking works in QRtimetrack
- Set the registered remote-work address (or several) and the agreed schedule for each remote employee.
- The employee clocks in from the phone app: start, break, finish. Location is checked only at the moment of clocking in.
- Optionally turn on random presence checks: the employee confirms with a selfie within 10 minutes. Selfies are deleted automatically after 30 days.
- Overtime can require confirmation; managers see it separately and approve it.
- At month end you close the period, the employee confirms their hours from the phone, and you export to Excel, CSV or PDF.
Hybrid staff can clock in at the office (QR code or office-network browser clock-in) and at home; hours appear per location. QRtimetrack includes an employee information template and a DPIA template. More on online time clock options and the GPS time clock.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I have to record the hours of remote workers?
Yes, on the same basis as office staff. In Ireland, hours worked must be recorded and kept 3 years. In the UK, you need records showing compliance with working time limits, plus minimum wage and holiday records for 6 years – in practice, start and end times.
What should the contract say about recording hours?
State the working and core hours, how hours are recorded (for example, through the company's time tracking app at start, break and finish), where the employee works, how overtime is approved and recorded, and what monitoring takes place.
Can remote employees work overtime?
Yes, within the 48-hour average and rest rules. Ask for overtime to be approved in advance and recorded, because unrecorded hours still count for working time limits and the minimum wage.
Can I track a remote employee by GPS or webcam all day?
That's very hard to justify. The ICO and EU data protection authorities expect monitoring to be necessary, proportionate and transparent. Recording start and end times, with a location check at clock-in only, is far easier to defend than continuous tracking.
If someone works 2 days at home and 3 in the office, what changes?
Nothing in the working time rules. Record hours the same way on both: in QRtimetrack they scan the office QR on office days and clock in from the registered home address on remote days, and all hours appear in one report.
Sources
- Working Time Regulations 1998, regulation 9 – legislation.gov.uk
- Citizens Information – Right to request remote working (Ireland)
- WRC – Code of Practice on the Right to Request Flexible Working and Remote Working
- Citizens Information – Keeping records of working time and breaks
- ICO – Employment practices and data protection: monitoring workers